Leap Butch!
by Amelia Wolfson
Summary: What if Sam leapt into Luke that fateful night in Partings, would it have changed their history?
1. Leap Butch!

_I've never written a cross-over before, but I had a plot bunny following me all day and was threatening to turn into the evil rabbit from Monty Python if I didn't heed its prompting. I know I'm probably breaking all kinds of rules of Project Quantum Leap, but I swear it was all for the sake of the story. That being said, enjoy Leap Butch!_

 **Leap Butch!**

Sam felt the leap overtaking him again, the familiar pull at his center, the tingle of electricity that shimmered through his body as he was taken from one point in time to another. As the post-leap haze started to clear from his eyes, he quickly took in his surroundings as quickly as he could, a habit he'd developed over the innumerable previous leaps he'd made. He found himself standing behind the counter of a small diner, rag in his hand. To his left sat an old school register that was worn with age, making it difficult to determine the era in which he had landed.

 _Hmm, I must work here, but where is here?_ He pondered continuing his perusal of the surroundings. He took in the mismatched chairs and tables, the window that looked into what seemed to be a malt shop, and then settled on the large picture windows at the front of the store where the word "Luke's" was painted in yellow cursive over a brown coffee cup. _So this is Luke's, now to figure out who Luke is._

A woman striding across the park and past an old gazeebo, caught his attention, not only was she beautiful, but she had a determined look in her intensely blue eyes that was almost mesmerizing. Judging by her clothing, he was sometime after the turn of the century, logging the newly acquired information away in his eidetic memory, he returned his gaze to the woman who had just walked through the door, causing the bells to ring out.

She hesitated for the briefest of moments, "Hey, I need to talk to you." She said simply, blue eyes meeting his, causing him to shift uncomfortably. It was clear by the way she looked at him that they weren't strangers, if the ring on her hand were any indicator, he would assume that whomever he had leaped into was involved with this enchanting creature.

"Sure," He nodded, dropping the rag in his hand into the bucket under the counter.

"Not in here," The woman said simply, casting a concerned look around the diner, settling briefly on an older heavy set red head and an equally seasoned blonde woman who were both watching them carefully, "I doubt you want 'Hello Magazine' over there to hear this."

Sam simply nodded and followed the woman out the front door and onto the sidewalk; he could tell that whatever was on her mind was a serious matter. _Al, you'd better hurry up! I think I'm going to be needing some background for this conversation._ He thought, after a few long moments of the two of them standing and awkwardly waiting for the other to speak, he prompted her. "So, what's up?"

"What's up?" The woman huffed, a mix of frustration, defeat, sadness, and disappointment crossed her face, "That's exactly what's up." When Sam didn't respond, she continued, "For someone who is supposedly engaged, you are remarkably disconnected from your fiancée."

"I'm sorry…" Sam started, grasping at straws as to why whoever this man was would ever put distance between himself and the woman before him.

"I know," She cut him off, "I know I said I'd give you time to figure out the whole April situation, but jeez Luke, it's been six months since she came into your life. Six months!"

 _Oh boy,_ Sam thought, _Was he having an affair? Who is April?_

"I know it was a shock and all," The woman continued, "Finding out, all of a sudden that you have a 12 year old daughter," Sam sighed with relief as he tried to catch the rest of her rant, "But it still took you nearly half that time to even tell me about her, and you didn't even do that! I had to hear it from Patty and Babette!"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Sam sighed, quietly cursing the man who had put the woman he must love in such a position. "I could have handled it better."

"I don't know why I'm still angry about this, and I know I should have said something sooner too." The woman let out a defeated breath, "Even after you told me about her, I still couldn't figure out why you would keep me away from her. It was so clear that we got along when you called me to bail you out at her birthday party. I love April, she's a great kid, reminds me a little of Rory. The moment I met her I started racking my brain to figure out who we could add on your side so that both our daughters could be in the wedding."

"I don't know what to say to you," Sam sighed, "I know that wasn't fair to you."

"I went to see Anna," The woman admitted quietly, her demeanor made it clear that the woman was somehow connected to the girl and himself.

"Why did you do that?" He asked, hoping to glean more information from her.

"I noticed that after her party, April wasn't coming around as often," The woman shrugged before raising her eyes to meet his, he could see the tears starting to shimmer in her blue pools, making the twinkle lights from the square reflect and sparkle in her eyes. "I don't know why, but it made me think back to when Chris started seeing Sherry, I remember feeling so jealous of the time Rory spent with her, even though I knew there was no reason to. With as involved in her life as Chris was back then, I knew she wasn't a real threat. Remembering that led me to realize that maybe, just maybe, Anna sees me the same way. So I drove over to Woodbridge and went to her shop. I just wanted to tell her that I had no intention of taking April away from her, but that her keeping April from you because of me wasn't fair to either you or your daughter."

"What did she say to that?"

"I believe her exact words were 'engaged isn't married.'" The woman sighed, "I'm afraid I may have messed that up for you."

"Don't worry about it, I'll talk to Anna later and try to straighten it out." He nodded resolutely, while in the back of his mind hoping that this man kept an address book somewhere, "I mean we are engaged right? We are going to get married."

"Exactly," the woman huffed.

They both heard the bells ring out behind them as the two older women stepped out into the late spring air, "I left the money on the table for you, Hunny." The red head smiled warmly at them, the look she sent was a mix of hope and apprehension. "You two kids play nice, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That doesn't leave much not to do," The blonde rasped, chuckling, "Good night Luke, good night Lorelai."

"Good night," Lorelai smiled at the woman.

 _What a pretty name,_ Sam thought, glad to finally have a name for the woman before him.

"So, what do you think about tonight?" She asked, returning her gaze to him, an expectant look on her face.

"What do I think about tonight for what?" He asked.

"To get married…" Lorelai led, "We are still going to get married, right?"

"Um…" Sam delayed, praying that Al would hurry up and get there. "I mean…"

"Jeez, Luke, do you want to elope or not?" She huffed.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," Sam countered sarcastically, taken aback by her frustrated tone, _Man, this guy really must have done a number on her._

"What is that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"It means we can't just go off and get married!" Sam shook his head at her, "What about the girls? Wouldn't Rory and April be disappointed to miss it?"

"Cut the crap, Luke," Lorelai sighed, "I just had the night from Hell, and I don't have time for it."

"What happened?" Sam asked, stepping toward her concerned.

"Nice side step," She rolled her eyes, "If you must know Chris was there. Mom and Dad invited him, can you believe it? At least this time their focus wasn't on me and him, I think they've finally given up on that. It took them 22 years to finally realize that I wasn't going to marry him just so Rory's biological parents could be together, besides you've always been more of a father to her than he ever was." She spoke quickly before ending her tangent and getting back to the story at hand, "They set him up with the woman who is a daughter of one of their friends. Chris didn't take too well to it, and the already excruciating event that is known as the Gilmore Friday Night Dinner suffered for it. Chris left early, apparently the nanny called saying Gigi was sick."

Sam simply nodded, filing away the information. He assumed that Gigi must have been from another relationship, perhaps the Sherry person she was referring to. He also made note of the fact that Lorelai must have been very young, perhaps even a teenager when Rory was born, she didn't look old enough to have a daughter in her 20's, mid-teens perhaps, but not anywhere near the 21 years he now assumed that Rory was.

"She's a shrink, you know?" Lorelai's voice cut through his thoughts, bringing him back to the present, "Anyway, after dinner we walked out to the cars together and started talking, before I knew it, I was laying across her back seat, revealing everything." She paused, an impish look flashed on her face before she shook her head, "I know that was a 'Dirty' but I really don't care. Anyway we started talking about relationships. I told her about growing up with the gender-swapped Adolph and Eva, and about Chris and me getting pregnant at 16 with Rory. I told her of the countless times my parents or his parents, or all of them at once tried to push us to marry after that, including Chris folding practically every time. I told her about the botched attempt that Chris and I made before Sookie's wedding that ended when Sherry found out she was pregnant with Gigi. We even talked about you. You and Rory, you and me, you and April… all of it." She shook her head sadly, "She said a few things that really made me think, you know? And I was thinking, we've been engaged for nearly a year now, I know we pushed the wedding back when Rory and I were fighting, but that was resolved a long time ago. Now with the April thing, we haven't talked about the wedding in months, it's made me wonder if you really want to marry me. I got to thinking on the way home about Martha's Vineyard. Remember when we went down there with Rory and Logan? Didn't you say that you liked the idea of getting married out there?"

Sam didn't know what to think aside from the fact that Luke was clearly one of the biggest idiots on the planet to put Lorelai in this position. "Lorelai, Martha's Vineyard is lovely but…"

"Let's elope," Lorelai suggested quickly.

"What?" Sam was confused as to how they had gotten there.

"Come on, Luke. Grab your keys; let's go." She insisted.

"Elope?" He asked.

"You said it would be fine at Martha's Vineyard." She continued, desperation clear in her voice, "Didn't you say it would be fine at Martha's Vineyard?"

"I guess, but…"

"Come on, then!" She pleaded, "Let's go! We can drive up to Maryland. What the hell, right? We can drive up there, get married, then come back here, and you can finally move your stuff into the house."

"Okay, hold on," Sam felt overwhelmed and tried to get the fast talking woman to calm down a bit.

"I mean we already have a plan right?" She asked, a desperate note to her voice, "We just have to put the plan in motion."

"Let's calm down," Sam insisted, "I mean what about the girls?"

"We'll pick them up on the way, Woodbridge is on the way to New Haven, and Rory is probably just sitting at home now that Logan is in London." Lorelai suggested, "I bet they would love to see Maryland, I know Rory didn't get to see much of it when she was in DC a few years ago."

"Lorelai, don't you think this is a little fast?" Sam asked panicked, "We don't have to do this right now do we? I mean shouldn't we figure this all out first?"

"Yes we do, because we've been waiting and putting it off, and I don't want to put it off anymore." Lorelai insisted, "Please, Luke."

"But right now?" He questioned her.

"Yes, now is the right time, the best time, because it's now!"

"Why don't you come inside and we can talk about this." Sam suggested.

"No, I'm done talking, I'm sick of talking! I want to do! I want to go!"

"We can't just take off and get married." Sam stated, he knew he was losing the argument, but he also knew that this wedding couldn't happen until he leaped and Luke returned.

"Why not, Luke? Don't you love me?"

"You know how I feel about you." Sam responded, weakly.

"That's just it! I don't know anymore. I love you, Luke. I love you so much, but I have waited and stayed away while you worked out this thing with April. I just feel like this had gotten so out of control. I asked you to marry me, Luke! You said _yes_!"

"I know," Sam nodded, "I'm just trying to think here." He was stalling for time, _Damn it, Al, where are you?_ He thought desperately.

"We fixed the house right?" Lorelai kept going, "We have a bigger closet; I didn't get the purple wallpaper because you didn't like the purple wallpaper. And if it's between the purple wallpaper and you, I pick you!"

"What does wallpaper have to do with this?" Sam asked even more confused.

"Because you didn't like it!" Lorelai insisted, "I have bent over backwards to accommodate you for months now, I've given you time, I've given you space, all because you asked for it. I think I'm well within my rights to ask this of you. We were building a life together, Luke, and suddenly everything came to a screeching halt!" Lorelai was on the verge of tears, "All I want, all I'm asking of you, is to marry me! I thought we were on the same page, now it doesn't even fell we're in the same book, or even the same library! Don't you care about me?"

"Of course," Sam honestly had come to care for this woman in the short time he'd been talking to her, it may have been because he felt bad for her, but he did care.

"Well good, because I feel like I'm going crazy over here, like it'll never happen."

"It'll happen," Sam assured here, "I just have a lot to consider, we have a lot to consider here."

"But once we're married, everything with April will be fine. Anna said so." Lorelai gave him a said look.

"You and I both know that's not true." Sam insisted, "Just give me a little bit to figure this all out."

"You've had all this time to figure it out. April has to fit into our lives, not the other way around!"

"I'm trying…"

"Well, try married!" She demanded.

"Can't you just wait a minute?"

"No!" She exclaimed, "I'm not waiting! It's now or never!"

"I don't like ultimatums."

"I don't like Mondays, but unfortunately they come around eventually." She countered.

"I can't just jump like this!" Sam's panic was increasing.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Lorelai looked defeated as she wiped a tear from her eyes, trying to maintain her composure. "I'm going to go now. Goodbye, Luke." With that she walked away, leaving a dumfounded Sam behind.

He just stood there watching as she walked down the street and across the square, leaving her jeep parked in front of the diner. "Oh boy," He desperately hoped he hadn't done irreversible damage to the relationship between Luke and Lorelai. Sam sighed and leaned up against the side of the building as the unmistakable sound of the imaging chamber door whispered beside him. "Where were you?" He asked, not looking up at his friend and partner. "I was just blindsided."

"Sorry, it took longer than anticipated to calm down your counterpart in the waiting room enough to get his story." Al explained, punching a few buttons on his handheld device. "I suppose you're wondering what you're doing here."

Sam just arched his eyebrow at the obvious statement from the aging admiral. "Right," Al nodded, "Your name is Luke Danes, you live in Stars Hollow Connecticut; you own your own diner and live in the office above that you converted into a studio apartment after your father died. Your nephew came to live with you a few years back and you wound up buying the building next door and expanding the apartment into a two bedroom. What else? Oh, you are engaged to Lorelai Gilmore of the Hartford Gilmores; she ran away from home when she was 17 with her daughter Rory so she could raise her without the elder Gilmores' influence. Rory was only 6 months old at the time. You met 10 years later when she moved to town, apparently prior to that she had been living in a shed at the Inn she worked at back then. That inn had a fire a couple years back and she is now co-owner of a new inn that you helped fund. You also have a daughter, but only found out about her 6 months ago when she came into the diner and took a sample of your hair for a DNA test. She was doing a science fair experiment to figure out who her father was. It seems you went to the fair and found out that you're her father and she's been in your life ever since. Her name is April and she just turned 13, her mother is a woman named Anna who you had a short relationship with many years ago and had not heard from until you confronted her about April. You've been getting visitation with the girl ever since and even chaperoned a field trip not too long ago. Luke, the real Luke, is all up in arms ranting about having to get back to the diner. Apparently Lorelai goes to dinner every Friday night with her parents, a tradition started when her parents started paying for Rory's private high school education and continued even after the loan had been paid back. Her relationship with her parents is tumultuous at best, and she always comes to the diner afterwards to vent. It is May 5th 2006, and despite all of that information, Ziggy is still trying to figure out why you're here."

"I may have an idea as to why I came here." Sam suggested.

"What's that?" Al questioned, rolling his cigar between his fingers absentmindedly.

"What happened to Luke and Lorelai in the original history?"

Al popped the end of his cigar in his mouth and started punching buttons on the comlink. "Well, let's see here. Looks like they had a pretty big blow out one night, after which Lorelai stormed off and slept with an old ex from high school."

"Chris?"

"Christopher Hayden, yep, that'd be the one." All confirmed before continuing, "Their relationship, at least their romantic one didn't survive. Looks like Lorelai eloped with Christopher a few months later in Paris but they divorced a couple months after that when he found a letter she had written as a character reference for Luke and subsequently left. Apparently her father had a heart attack the next week and he refused to show up or even respond to her phone calls. However Luke caught wind of it and stepped up… seems like he does that a lot."

"I would have to agree," Sam nodded, "From what I could gather from the conversation I just had, Luke has been filling in for Christopher for most of Rory's life."

"Uh huh," Al nodded before continuing, "There's more, looks like Luke was able to win partial custody of his daughter, thanks to the letter that Lorelai wrote, and was even able to have April stay with him for a while when her mother flew out of state to deal with her ailing grandmother. While she was staying with her father, April developed appendicitis, Lorelai convinced Luke to take the girl to the hospital, saving her life. They slowly worked their way back to friendship, even tried dating again about a year after Lorelai's divorce went through, which is another couple years away, but they were never able to fully recover from Lorelai's indiscretion. They remained friends, but never married anyone else after that."

"So why am I here?" Sam asked again.

Al punched a few more buttons on the comlink, "Ah, here it is, Ziggy has a theory that Luke and Lorelai's failed relationship was an influencing factor on both their daughter's lives, and not in a good way. Rory apparently met this _strattone_ in college – she's a student at Yale, by the way, got in by her own merit despite being a legacy due to her grandfather – who apparently doesn't treat her very well." Seeing Sam's back straightening, he quickly continued, "He doesn't beat her or anything, but treats her badly all the same, apparently she asked for some space a few months ago to sort out her feelings and he slept with his sister's entire bridal party. Some prize he is, I know I'm no saint, but even I would never do that to a dame."

Sam sighed and walked back into the diner, Al's hologram following him inside and up the stairs to the apartment in which he apparently lived. "What does Luke and Lorelai's relationship have to do with that?" He asked, taking a seat on the worn leather couch.

"Looks like after watching her mother's love life go down in flames, she was determined to not share the same fate. Around the same time as Luke and Lorelai's break up, she was considering ending things with Logan the loser. Apparently having a name like Huntzburger give the men in that family a predisposition of being a complete jackass. After witnessing the crash and burn that was not only Luke and Lorelai's relationship, but also the demise of her own parents' marriage, she became desperate to not end up alone. She wound up staying with the Logan character, because it was easier to stay and play the faithful girlfriend than to break up and leave. It looks like about a year from now, Logan proposed, she wasn't ready to get married, so he left her. She found moderate success following President Obama's initial campaign, but when the campaign stopped in San Francisco, they get back together; they married 6months later after Rory got pregnant. Logan never stopped his philandering ways, he constantly travels and has more girlfriends than a sailor on leave – I would know. She refuses to leave him for the sake of their child, but is miserable."

"Luke and Lorelai going their separate ways caused that?" Sam was surprised.

"Well, you're the one with the psych degree, what do you think?" Al challenged him.

"I suppose, if you look at it in the way that we all learn about how relationships work from our parents…"

"That would be it," Al nodded, "On some level Rory figured that there was no hope in ever being successful in love if Luke and Lorelai who desperately loved each other couldn't even work out. She chose what was comfortable, rather than following her heart to the man she truly loved. Ironically, that man never married, his heart belonged to Rory until the day he died."

"What about April?" Sam asked.

"April went to Yale and then MIT, she's just as brilliant in science as you and Sammy-Jo." Al smiled, referring to Sam's own daughter, "Unfortunately, she's not as brilliant at relationships. She always felt like she was the reason behind the breakup and that guilt translated into never having a serious relationship except for with her work as a bio-engineer."

"All that from one couple breaking up?" Sam was amazed.

"It wasn't so much that they went splitsville, more of a result of it happening in conjunction with several other major live events." Al shrugged, "According to Ziggy, there is an 89% chance you are here to keep Luke and Lorelai together and stop her from sleeping with Christopher."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Sam questioned.

"Stop her from walking away." Al shrugged, "Looks like their fight was over their impending –or not so impending- wedding. Just reassure her that you, or rather Luke, does want to get married."

"Oh boy," Sam gasped, standing up.

"What?"

"That argument already happened, right before you showed up!"

"Well, you'd better get going then." Al informed him. "She can't have gone far, her jeep is still parked out front. She's probably at home, she live at the end of Peach Street in a white Victorian. Go across the street and take a left on third, and a right on Peach. It shouldn't take you too long on foot, or better yet, your truck is parked out back. Go, before she comes back for the jeep!"

"Meet me over there." Sam directed his friend, "I might still need you to help me out. You might want to get Luke in on this, if you can. I don't want to mess this up any more than either of us already have."

"Alright," Al nodded, punching the button the handheld to open the imaging room door, "I'll see you over there." With a whisper and a thud the door closed behind him.


	2. Making Things Right

**Making Things Right**

Sam made no delay in starting the truck, which still had the keys in the ignition, you got to love small towns, he was pulling up to Lorelai's house in no time flat and sprinted up to the door before knocking, loudly, in hopes that he hadn't missed her.

A moment later the door swung open to reveal a red-eyed Lorelai, who had been clearly crying. She was still dressed in the clothes she'd worn to her parents' home. "Go away Luke, I really don't want to talk to you right now."

"Tough, I want to talk to you." Sam replied, putting his hands on his hips.

"Why?" She demanded, "Why after all this time do you want to talk now? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"No, I can't." Sam shook his head, "Lorelai, we need to talk about this. This is too big to just ignore, especially with the girls involved."

" _Involved?"_ Lorelai scoffed, "They're the exact opposite of involved! Rory is away at college and you never let me in with April, I would definitely say that the girls are very much not involved. Which, if you recall, was part of the problem."

"I remember." Sam nodded, "Can I please come in, I really don't want us to leave things the way we did at the diner."

Lorelai didn't speak, simply opened the door wider and walked toward the couch. Sam quickly followed, closing the door behind him and sitting on the end of the couch opposite from where Lorelai was now perched. They sat for a few moments before Sam finally spoke, "Lorelai, I am sorry about our argument earlier, I was a little blindsided. I've had a little time to process since then and while I think your idea of eloping is incredibly romantic, I don't think that it's the right choice." Lorelai deflated even more, curling up on herself. "That's not to say a wedding won't eventually happen, but I think there are some larger issues that need to be settled before such a big step is taken."

Lorelai sat quietly, mulling over what Luke had to say. She still loved him, she knew that much, but would it be enough to make their relationship work? She really didn't want to break up, but she was so tired of being an afterthought, of being pushed away and disincluded in his life. There was a time when they met everything together, they had been Luke and Lorelai - best friends and partners long before they were Luke and Lorelai – engaged lovers. She missed that, she missed him, they hadn't made love in a couple months, he rarely stayed over anymore; they were so disconnected now. It wasn't just Bedroom Luke or Sexy-Metrosexual-Date-Night Luke that she missed, although she loved those versions of him. It was Everyday Luke, Best-Friend Luke, Listen-Without-Complaint Luke, Gruff-on-the-Outside-Soft-and-Sweet-on-the-Inside Luke, that was the Luke she had fallen in love with all those years ago, even if she couldn't or wouldn't admit it. That was the man she still loved.

"What do you suggest we do?" She asked finally.

"Well, first I think I owe you an apology." Sam replied, "I am so sorry for the way you've been treated these last few months. That wasn't fair to you, and it wasn't fair to April, who will also be getting an apology by the way. I hope you can forgive the events of the last 6 months."

"It won't be easy, but I think I can do that." Lorelai nodded, "However, you need to stop segregating your life so much. I can't be kept in one area of your life while April is in another, it's all or nothing. Like you said on our first date, 'I'm all in,' I'm going to hold you to that. All in means you are in all areas of my life and I am in all areas of yours."

"I understand." Sam nodded.

"Truth be told, as much as I love Bedroom Luke, Date-Night Luke, and Diner Luke, I think the Luke I love the most is Daddy Luke." Lorelai admitted, "I always knew you would be a good father. I watched you for years with Rory, you were always more of a father to her than Christopher ever was. It's why I didn't freak out as much as I probably should have when I had the dream about being pregnant with your twins while we were still friends. I see it in your interactions with April, does she have any idea how lucky she is to have Luke Danes as a dad?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged before allowing her to continue.

"Seeing the way you treat our girls makes me fall in love with you even more," Lorelai spoke quietly, "But at the same time, it's been breaking my heart knowing that I wasn't included in that area of your life, at least not where April was involved. Sure you ask for help when you feel overwhelmed, like with April's party, but you haven't involved me in the little day-to-day things, and that hurts – a lot. I want to be involved in the little things; school shopping, dinners together at home, or Sniffy's, or wherever, hanging out together, basically being a family. I have no intention of taking over for Anna, I just want to be your wife; I want our family to be together the way it's supposed to be."

Lorelai started to cry, seeing her like this broke Sam's heart. "Hey, come here." He scooted closer to Lorelai and pulled her into his arms so she could cry on his chest. He wished there was a way that Luke could witness all of this, hear how much he was hurting her. What he didn't realize was that while they were talking, Al and reentered the imaging chamber, and he wasn't alone. When Lorelai's sobs began to slow, he tucked his finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. "It's going to be alright." He whispered before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Are you going to fix everything?" She asked.

"No," Sam shook his head, "I can't do everything; this has to be a team effort."

"The girls too?"

"The girls too." Sam confirmed. He heard Al clear his throat from where he stood just over Lorelai's shoulder. "Hey, I'm going to get some water, do you want anything to drink?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine." She shook her head, "But I could really use something to eat, I really didn't eat much at dinner, do you mind cooking something while you're in there?"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at the childish hope on her face. "Sure, I'll see what I can whip up. Why don't you relax a bit, I'll call you when dinner is ready."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded, pulling out of his arms and rising from the couch when he did, "I think I'll go upstairs and take a shower, get out of these clothes and into something more comfortable."

"Dirty," Sam joked, having picked up on Lorelai's ability to change innocent intent into innuendo. He heard Al let out a chuckle that was quickly covered by a cough, but chose to ignore it. "Why don't you go do that, I'll let you know when I'm done down here."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded. She pressed a quick kiss to his stubbled cheek and made her way up the stairs to where her master suite was located. "Love you."

"I know." Sam smiled not realizing that the grin that she rewarded him with was because she thought he'd deliberately referenced Han Solo. Despite his insistence to the contrary, it was well known that Luke had an affection for space sagas from Star Trek to Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. He had even been known to watch Firefly when it was on, Lorelai only knew this because she had accidentally picked up _Serenity_ for their weekly movie night and found out that he was familiar enough with the characters to have favorites. It was no surprise that Luke had an affection to Sheppard Book, the mysterious moral compass of the crew. He also had a soft spot for the lovably goofy Wash and innocently strong Kaylee, which Lorelai believed spoke to his – oft denied- friendship with Kirk, and his affection for Rory, although she knew he'd deny it to his dying day; or at least the part about Kirk being his friend.

She stood on the first landing for a moment, watching Luke walk toward the kitchen. She was glad that her temporary bout of insanity had led them to be open about discussing their issues and resolving them. She was equally glad he had come when he had, because she was just on her way upstairs to change and go visit Chris. Normally, she would have gone to Sookie, but the kids and Jackson were all sick, leaving her sweet friend to play nursemaid to the bunch. Rory was having a much needed girls' night with Paris and Lane, and she didn't want to intrude, at least not with something like what had happened between her and Luke just a couple hours before.

Lorelai took a deep breath, feeling a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but there was something still bothering her. Everything seemed to be heading back to being on the right track, but there was something off about Luke. She couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, though. He looked like Luke, he sounded like Luke, but she and Luke had been a couple for two years, and best friends for nearly ten. She knew the way he spoke, the way he moved, every little mannerism the man had; it was something in the way he said her name, normally there was a hint of reverence in his voice that was suspiciously absent, something in the way he moved, he didn't walk like Luke. Sure his stride was smooth and sure, but not quite Luke, same with the kiss he'd laid on her forehead earlier, it felt like his lips, but still not.

 _I've been under a lot of stress lately,_ Lorelai thought to herself as she turned and continued up the stairs toward her bedroom, _Maybe I'm just imagining it because we've been apart for a while._ Resolving to be Scarlett O'Hara for the rest of the night, she set about finding a t-shirt and a pair of yoga pants before stepping into the shower and letting her stress and apprehension slide down the drain with the soapy water.


	3. Welcome to Quantum Leap, Luke

**Welcome to Quantum Leap, Luke**

Luke wasn't sure what he had just witnessed, it all seemed like some weird dream. One moment he was wiping down his counter, waiting and hoping that Lorelai would come by after Friday Night Dinner like she so often did. He desperately wanted to talk to her, needed to talk to her, Anna had just dropped a bomb on him, saying that she was taking April and going to New Mexico. Lorelai had immediately come to mind. He trusted her judgement and even with all her fantastical stories and tangents, she always shot straight with him when it came to the important stuff… well except for April. He knew the way he had been handling the April situation was wrong, and was planning to tell her that tonight, but in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a brightly lit room no longer wearing his comfortable jeans and flannel, instead he wore a pure white body suit.

He had just taken a look at his reflection, surprised to not find his face, but that of another man's staring back from the reflective surface. "It's a real kick in the pants, ain't it?" An older man with a thick cigar startled him, "Admiral Al Calavicci, and you are?"

"Um, Luke?" He responded, still not sure if he was talking to a real person or if he was in some weird dream. "Where am I?"

"Where is not nearly as important as when." Al countered, "It's 2025 here, just so you know. The where is slightly less confusing, as we are a couple hours outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico; welcome to Project Quantum Leap."

"Yeah, being transported in an instant across time and space is not confusing at all," Luke scoffed.

"It's just another day in the office for us." Al shrugged.

"You said something about a project?" Luke queried, "Sounded like this show I used to watch in high school."

"You and nearly everyone else who has come here in the past couple decades." Al chuckled, "In all honesty the project lead originally got the idea from watching that show, - _Time Jump_ , wasn't it? - as a kid."

"Jeez," Luke sighed, "So what you're saying is that this guy," he pointed to his reflection, "Is in my body and I am in his?"

"Correctomundo." Al confirmed.

"I have got to be dreaming." Luke shook his head in disbelief, "I must have fallen on one of those grease patches I keep telling Caesar to clean up and knocked myself out or something."

"Nope," Al shook his head, "This is all real, I can assure you. I do have to get some information from you, though to plug into our computer so we can fill Sam - that's Dr. Sam Beckett, the man you switched with – in on the pertinent information."

"Oh, what the hell, I'll play along." Luke huffed, turning back to the older man who looked suspiciously like John Cavil, a Cylon from a remake of one of his favorite childhood shows. "If this is all a dream, I'll eventually wake up and get on with my normal life. What do you want to know?"

Over the course of the next 30 minutes Luke answered Al's questions as simply as he could. In a feat rare of the usually monosyllabic diner owner, he became quite verbose as he gave his history, as well as Lorelai's. Talked about how they met and how their relationship had developed from proprietor and customer, to best friends, and eventually to their current day status. He told Al about Rory, making it no secret about how he felt about the idiot she'd been seeing for the past couple years since the whole Dean debacle. Finally he moved on to the portion of his life that brought him joy, anger, frustration, and sorrow; his daughter April. He told about how shocked he was when she had shown up, how nervous and overwhelmed but overall, happy he was when he discovered this brilliant little girl was his long-lost daughter. The frustration and anger he had when he found out that Anna had willfully kept April's existence from him and the continued frustration over her restrictions on allowing, or rather not allowing his fiancée to be involved with April. Finally the sadness and sorrow that came with the current situation; his relationship with Lorelai had suffered since April came into his life, granted it wasn't her fault, he took full responsibility for that, at first it was that he wanted to figure out the whole parenting thing by himself without Supermom swooping in to help him.

Sure Luke had taken in Jess, but he was all grown and set in his ways by the time he reached Stars Hollow, there really wasn't much raising Luke had to do. April was much younger, and Luke had a real shot at influencing her life in way he never had, or ever would be able to do for Jess who, despite being his nephew, he thought of as a son of sorts. He also was still trying to figure out what to do about New Mexico, she had already denied his suggestion of shared custody, but since Anna never put his name on April's birth certificate, he had to prove he had legal claim to force the issue. To make matters worse, since April's 13th birthday when Lorelai helped out, Anna had been denying him access to his daughter in one way or another. He outlined his plan to take Anna to court and sue her for partial custody to Al before the older gentlemen stood and left the room, leaving Luke alone with his thoughts.

Al had returned a little less than an hour later, requesting that Luke come with him to another room that was called the 'imaging chamber,' the older man pressed a button on a hand-held device and ushered Luke into the room. "Now they won't be able to see you. Sam will see me because we were able to link his alpha waves to the trans-time feed on which this room broadcasts. If you touch me, he'll be able to see you, but Lorelai will not. They won't be able to hear you either, although we will be able to hear them, so you will just be a silent observer. This is highly irregular, we've only done this a few times when it was of great importance that the subject be involved. Sam requested you join me, he said that you should probably hear what Lorelai has to say. Once we've linked over, you will see holograms of the setting and of Lorelai and Sam."

Almost immediately the room began to shift and he suddenly found himself standing in Lorelai's living room, agreeing whole heartedly with everything Sam was saying. He fought to hold back tears as he listened to Lorelai talk about their relationship. It broke his heart that he was hurting her so much, but he was almost just as mad that she had waited this long to say anything. He had heard the rumors about her drunken toast a few weeks ago at Lane's wedding. Eventually he watched as Sam stood from the couch and allowed Lorelai to kiss his cheek before heading toward the kitchen. His eyes quickly darted to Lorelai, who stood on the first landing, a thoughtful look across her face. _She knows something's up,_ he thought watching her think a moment longer then head the rest of the way up the stairs.

He was tempted to follow her up the stairs, but Al had explained it was impossible for two observers to be at different elevations within the imaging chamber. Taking one more deep breath, he followed Al and Sam into the kitchen where Sam had found some pasta and cream sauce and was cooking up chicken to add once the pasta was done boiling. He didn't need a sense of smell to know the meal would be delicious and nodded his approval to the Quantum Physicist. He listened to Al and Sam discuss what their next move should be while reflecting on how intuitive Dr. Beckett seemed to be. Al had informed him about getting to Sam too late to give him any pertinent information about Luke and Lorelai's relationship before Lorelai had presumably offered an ultimatum, elope or call it quits, yet somehow Sam was able to glean enough information from Lorelai's rant to gather that they had been friends for a long time and lovers for just the last little bit, were engaged to be married, that there had been trouble with their oldest daughter (Luke had always considered Rory to be a daughter to him, which became even more clear with every idiot she dated, even his nephew), and that there was a custody issue with his younger daughter's mother, even if Lorelai didn't know the specifics.

He was pleasantly surprised when he heard Sam mentioned suing for joint custody of his daughter and asking Lorelai to submit a character reference and, by way of Al, voiced his agreement. The men continued to discuss the particulars of the situation a bit longer with Luke feeding Sam any pertinent information he could think of before Al informed him it was time to go. Lorelai reentered the kitchen dressed in black yoga pants and the blue flannel she had stolen from him when they first had gotten together. In all his life he had never seen her looking so beautiful, sure he had seen her dressed that way many times before, often without the benefit of the pants, but he supposed absence really did make the heart grow fonder. He released a wistful, but manly, sigh as the imaging chamber door closed, cutting her from his sights.

"Man you got it bad." Al chuckled, "You were looking at her the way I used to look at a porterhouse steak, and my first wife for that matter."

"Would it surprise you to find out you're not the first person to say that?" Luke looked at the older man, "My would-be mother-in-law made the same comment to Lorelai the first night she met me."

"I don't think there's a straight man of legal age on this planet who wouldn't notice how beautiful she is. Not to mention the ones not yet of legal age." Al chuckled, "Do us both a favor when Sam's job is done and you go back; don't ever let her go. I've been married five times, but none of them measured up to the first. Beth was the love of my life, sure I've loved all my wives, but she could have been it, Kid. Trust me, when you find that one special girl, you should do anything and everything in your power to keep her."

"I'm starting to realize that," Luke nodded as they made their way back to the waiting room, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened with you and Beth?"

"Same old story, boy joins the Navy, boy meets girl, boy marries girl, boy gets shipped off to Viet Nam where he is subsequently captured as a prisoner of war for four years, boy is declared dead by his higher ups, girl mourns then meets a new guy and remarries, boy comes back to an empty home and broken heart." Al's fake nonchalance doing nothing to hide the pain he still felt over the loss of his first wife even nearly a half century later.

"I'm sorry," Luke replied earnestly.

"Me too, Kid, me too." Al nodded as they reached the waiting room and Luke went in, "Try not to worry too much. Your girls are in good hands with Sam, I can guarantee he will do his best to get you back to them as soon as he can.

"Thanks," Luke nodded before settling in on the bed that was provided to try to get some sleep, he'd had a long day before this and witnessing Lorelai's breakdown while being in a position where he couldn't comfort her was even more draining on him than the stress of the past few months.


	4. Diner and Decisions

**Diner and Decisions**

"Hey you," Lorelai smiled at Luke as she entered the kitchen to find him making dinner. "That smell delicious, but if you think I'm going to eat that salad, you've got another thing coming."

"Suit yourself." Sam shrugged as he finished tossing the salad, completely missing the knowing look that Lorelai sent his way. Before long the sauce had been added to the pasta and chicken, food had been plated, beer had been retrieved from the fridge, and the couple was seated at the table tucking into their meal.

 _This is really good,_ Lorelai thought to herself, _But most definitely not Luke's cooking. Whoever this body snatcher is, he is not Luke._ "So who are you?" She finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, surprised by the question but trying not to let it show.

"I think the question is pretty self-explanatory." Lorelai countered, "You may look like Luke, and sound like Luke, and know some things that only Luke and I would know, but I know you aren't Luke. Is this an 'Attack of the Body Snatchers' kind of a thing? Did you really think you could fool me? If you did, you have another think coming."

"Jeez, Lorelai, would you give it a rest?" Sam huffed, a little of Luke's persona leaking over, "You know who I am, you've known who I am for nearly 11 years. I'm Luke, your Luke, Diner Man, Burger Boy, and Fiancé Extraordinaire."

"No, you're not." Lorelai stated, her deep cerulean eyes bearing into his own. "I know you're not, you don't move like Luke, you don't kiss like Luke, and those eyes are too green to be Luke's. So I'll ask again, who are you?"

"You want proof that I am who I say I am?" Sam challenged, "I'll give you proof I was born November 12th 1963, my parents were William and Marie Danes, I have a younger sister Liz from whom I have a nephew named Jess and a niece or nephew on the way. We met in my diner when you demanded coffee and I refused until you gave me a horoscope promising to go away if I only served you what you asked for. My mother died when I was seven of breast cancer, my father had a heart attack when I was 18 that caused me to have to come home and take care of him and the store instead of continuing at University of Connecticut where I had scholarships for baseball and track. He died November 1, 1984 of congestive heart failure, a mere two and a half weeks after Rory was born, not that I knew it at the time. I went to your daughter's caterpillar funeral, I made mashed potatoes for her every day when she had the chicken pox; I even threatened every boyfriend Rory has ever had, including my own nephew. My daughter April is 13, her mother Anna is preventing me from seeing her because she's bent out of shape about you helping with April's birthday party. Need I continue?"

"No," Lorelai sighed, he knew all the right things, but there was something nagging at her, something telling her that he wasn't who he said he was. "Anna is really preventing you from seeing April because of me?"

"Yeah, she was pissed enough about the party." Sam shrugged, "I guess you going to talk to her was the straw the broke the camel's back, so to speak. I don't blame you, I completely understand your reasoning behind it, but my relationship with Anna and April isn't like your relationship with Christopher and Rory. You left the door open to Chris all this time, I watched him for years free to come and go as he pleased, walking in, out, and all over. I wasn't given that same opportunity; if Anna had her way, I never would have known about April. I think I am going to have to sue for custody if I want to be able to see my daughter."

"You may just have to." Lorelai nodded, taking another bite of her pasta and chewing thoughtfully, "Do you want me to ask my dad if he knows anyone?"

"If you think he could help," Sam shrugged. "I would appreciate it."

"You know what bothers me about this whole situation?" Lorelai asked.

"Hmm?"

"Like you said, Chris has had an open door to see Rory, and he could care less. He took advantage of the situation and used her to try to get back with me every time." She shook her head, "But you, someone who genuinely wants a relationship with his child, can't see her because her mother is refusing to let you see her. I mean I know you weren't really pro-kid when you were younger, but even a blind man could see that you are an honorable man and value family; why would anyone in their right mind keep you from your child?"

"I don't know." Sam shook his head. "All I know is that I probably have a long fight ahead of me. Anna didn't even put me on the birth certificate when April was born, so not only do I have to sue for custody, but I have to prove that she is mine."

"Well whatever lawyer you get should know about where to find a qualified lab that does paternity tests." Lorelai smiled slightly at him, "Although I think you might be in the minority, usually it's the mothers trying to get the fathers to step up, I doubt they get many fathers trying to get the mothers to let them have access to their kids."

"Probably," Sam nodded. They sat in silence for a few moments before the silence was broken by Sam's yawn. "Oh boy, I didn't realize how tired I was; probably should head home"

"You know," Lorelai looked up shyly, "You could stay here. I think I still have a pair of your sweats here."

"I know," Sam smiled at her offer, "But I think with everything that's happened, we should take things slow, at least until things are more settled."

"So nothing dirty, at least for now?" Lorelai checked.

"Nothing dirty tonight." Sam gave her a half smile. "I'm too tired to do you any justice anyway."

"Okay," Lorelai nodded with a wan smile as she cleared the plates and put the remaining pasta in an empty container before putting it in the fridge.

"You're mad." Sam stated.

"No," Lorelai sighed, "A little frustrated, but not mad. Did you realize that it's been over two months since we made love? I mean that's not normal, especially for an engaged couple. We should be running for bed every chance we get."

"Normal is overrated." Sam stood and pulled her into his arms, dropping a kiss on her head, "We're not your typical engaged couple either; we have the girls to think about. We have to be careful about when and where we get intimate."

"I know," Lorelai nodded, resting her head on his shoulder, "But Rory has been living at Logan's for the past few months."

"I know it's really not my place to say," Sam sighed, "But are you sure that's the best place for her? I mean he did cheat on her, multiple times over."

"It is your place to say, you have been her father in nearly all ways but one for most of her life." Lorelai protested, "And I agree, I'm not exactly okay with it, but she's an adult and can do as she pleases. I'm not a fan of her shacking up with a man who clearly has commitment issues, but again, it's her choice."

"All the same, if you need him taken care of, let me know." Sam half-joked, "I've got a fairly decent tarp in the back of the truck."

"That's sweet of you to go all Godfather, but not necessary." Lorelai assured him, "Rory's smart, she'll see that he's not the one sooner or later, I just hope is the former rather than the latter."

"Yeah," Sam nodded before indicating toward the door, "Well, I'm gonna…"

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded, catching his meaning. "I'll call Dad first thing in the morning and let you know. Make sure you have coffee waiting when I come by."

"Alright," Sam agree. With a chaste kiss pressed against her lips, he left out the front door and out to the truck to return to the diner. "Oh boy," he sighed, "That was almost too close." With that he put the truck in gear and headed back to the apartment.

Lorelai watched as the truck backed out of the drive, hand pressed lightly to her lips. He'd nearly had her convinced, up until he kissed her. She knew that was not her Luke, but at the same time had the feeling that whoever now inhabited Luke's body was not a malevolent sort. Maybe he was a good spirit, or an angel like Clarence from her favorite holiday movie, sent to help the ones he was charged to protect to see the value in their lives. She smiled at the thought, "Alright Angel Boy, do what you gotta do to get my Burger Boy back to me." She spoke softly into the warm night before turning on her heel and heading up to her own bed, praying that it would all work out in the end.


	5. Morning After

**Morning** **After**

Sam awoke to a blaring alarm and the first glow of sunrise. Taking a quick look at the alarm, he groaned, it was only a quarter to five in the morning. He hadn't woken up that early since he was a kid, or at least since he leaped into himself as a kid living on the farm with his folks. Shaking the cobwebs and memories from his head, he quickly went about getting ready. Grabbing a shirt and a pair of jeans from the closet, he jumped into the shower. At five 'til he was making his way down the stairs to get things started in the diner.

Firing up the grill and prepping the coffee, he was thankful that he'd spent some time as a short order cook in one of his past leaps, at least he had an idea of what he was doing. He was in the process of putting the chairs back down on the floor when he heard a small tap on the glass. Looking up he found Lorelai smiling and waving at him before pointing toward the deadbolt that held the door shut.

Quickly flipping the lever, he let her in and locked the door behind her. "Good morning," He smiled at her, not sure if he should give her a kiss or not. He hadn't quite figured out where the couple stood on PDAs just yet.

Lorelai just smiled up at Luke, enjoying the brief moment of uncertainty that passed across his face before she took the initiative to lovingly peck him on the cheek. "Good morning," She smiled sleepily, she was not used to being up this morning, but figured he might need the help. Giving the man a once over she chuckled, "What are you wearing?"

"What's wrong with it?" Sam asked, looking down at the jeans, and button down shirt he was wearing.

"Well first of all, your hat is missing." Lorelai stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sam remembered the faded blue cap that he had set on the dresser the night before, not realizing the importance of the clearly well-worn article. "Secondly, what is with the shirt?"

"Oh I must have forgotten to put the cap on when I got out of the shower, I'll grab it in a little bit." Sam made his excuses, "But what's wrong with my shirt?"

"Not that I'm complaining, mind you, because believe me, that shirt is really working for you," Lorelai started, "But you usually go with the lumberjack look during diner hours. Looks liked you pretty much have everything in order down here and Caesar will be here soon, why don't we head upstairs and try again, Angel Boy."

 _Angel Boy?_ Sam wondered at the nickname not sure if it was one she usually used on Luke, but let it go. He gave her a slightly concerned look then shrugged before heading towards the curtain that led back to the stairs to his apartment.

"Don't worry, I won't make you look too dorky." Lorelai teased, following him, "Not that I think you could look dorky, and I've seen pictures of you from high school wearing that Star Trek t-shirt. Man did you make that think look good too. Must have been all that sporty stuff you did in high school."

"Sporty stuff?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you know. Track, baseball, I think you played a little basketball too, if I'm not mistaken." Lorelai smiled up at him, "I'm glad Start Hollow High still had that picture of you from when you made all state. You made those goofy looking 80's short shorts look sexy."

"Jeez, Lorelai," Sam blushed, "Now you gonna help me out here or what?"

"Alright, not a morning person I see." Lorelai quipped, "Me either, but thought I'd try to help you stay under the radar for a bit longer. The thing about small towns is…"

"Everyone notices everything." Sam finished for her, "I know, I grew up a small town boy."

"I know that, Silly," Lorelai's melodious giggle washed over him, "You grew up here, which only means you need to be extra careful because Patty and Babette have known you since infancy and would immediately start up Hello Magazine's gossip section if anything was the slightest bit off." She shook her head as she opened the closet door and grabbed a dark green flannel that brought out his eyes. "Catch," she called, tossing the shirt to him.

Sam caught the flying shirt readily and laid it on the bed as Lorelai retrieved the infamous hat from the dresser. He could hear her audible gasp the moment he took of the shirt revealing his bare chest. "What?"

"T-shirt," Lorelai stated, shaking her head in a wordless command to wait to put on the flannel, "You always have a shirt under the flannel, especially during the summer. That way if it gets too hot down stairs you have the option of losing the flannel without Patty trying to molest you too badly." She explained, grabbing a light grey shirt from one of the dresser drawers and tossing it to him. The shirt wasn't overly tight but still showed the carefully maintained muscles of Luke's torso. Lorelai did her best not to drool, reminding herself that this wasn't really her Luke and she couldn't take advantage of him.

"Better?" Sam asked, buttoning up the flannel just high enough for the t-shirt underneath to still peak through before sliding the hat on his head.

"Ooh," Lorelai frowned, "Other way, Hun. The only time you ever wear a hat forward is when you're out playing softball with the guys."

"Oh," Sam blushed under her scrutiny and quickly reset the hat backwards on his head, "Now?"

"Perfect," Lorelai beamed, "Now, I believe someone owes me coffee."

"One cup, coming right up." Sam smiled down at her before following her into the diner.

"One cup," Lorelai chuckled, "Surely you must be joking."

"I'm not joking," Sam responded without thinking, "And don't call me Shirley."

The shocked look Lorelai gave him stopped him in his tracks, he immediately knew he'd said something wrong, but wasn't sure as to what it might have been. The pair stood silently, looking at each other before another tap on the door earned his attention. Taking a quick glance at the clock, he realized that the diner should have been open 10 minutes ago. He quickly made his way to the door and flipped the sign before unlocking the door to allow a peculiar man of indeterminable age in.

Lorelai gave a small smile to Kirk who sat a couple stools down from her and ordered the omelet special, no peppers, no onion, no meat, just cheese and a hot chocolate. She watched as Luke quickly wrote down the order and slid it through the service window to his jovial cook. _Definitely not Luke._ She thought, _Luke doesn't make b-movie references, and he always argues with Kirk, especially when he orders that omelet. Oh, Angel Boy, you are gonna be a lot of work, aren't you._ Lorelai quickly finished he cup and held it out for a refill, which Luke quickly gave her without comment about it being the cause of her eventual, early, demise.

"Oh, before I forget, I called my Dad this morning." Lorelai spoke up after watching him serve Kirk his not-so-special cheese omelet and hot chocolate.

"Really?" Sam responded, intrigued, "What did he say?"

"That he was glad to hear me sounding happier than I did last night." Lorelai shrugged, "But when I told him about the reason for my call, he said he knew just the guy." She reached into her purse and pulled out a _Hello Kitty!_ Post-it note and handed it to him. "He said this guy is the best family law guy in the state, he'll help you get what you want and not drag Anna through the mud in the process."

"An honorable lawyer?" Sam quirked an eyebrow at her as he looked at the name and number scrawled in Lorelai's loopy script, "That's a rare breed."

"Yeah," Lorelai nodded before glancing at her watch, "Oops, gotta go. Michel said that Paw-Paw and Chin-Chin have a vet visit today, so I'm on the early desk today." She quickly explained before leaning over the counter, "Kiss?"

Sam obliged her with a quick peck on the lips and a "Have a good day," before grabbing her now empty cup that had been refilled at least three times that morning and setting it in the window. He spent the rest of his day serving customers. He quickly found his rhythm and found the repetitive nature of the job soothing in its own way. He could see why Luke enjoyed this work so much, especially when you added in all the strange characters that inhabited the town, most of whom came through the diner at some point or another, creating a constant form of entertainment. Sam had to remind himself on more than one occasion that he was supposed to be grumpy and not laugh at their ridiculous antics.


	6. One More Task

**One More Task**

It was early afternoon when Al made his presence known, calling to Caesar and Lane that he would be upstairs; Sam headed back to the apartment, followed by his holographic counterpart. "So, why am I still here?" He asked before Al could get a word in. "You said that Ziggy thought that if I kept Lorelai from running away and sleeping with Christopher, my job here would be done."

"I know what I said." Al responded defensively, "And believe me when I say that Luke is just as eager to get back as you are to take your next leap."

"You got that right," Sam sighed, flopping down on the leather couch before taking off his hat and running his fingers through his hair, "I think Lorelai knows."

"Lorelai knows what?" Al asked, more as a lead-in than genuine curiosity.

"I think she knows I'm not Luke." Sam looked up at his friend, "No, I know she knows I'm not Luke. After you left last night, we had dinner and we discussed me filing for custody of April. All of a sudden she asked who I was and what I'd done with Luke."

"You didn't tell her, did you?" Al questioned.

"No, I didn't tell her, but I wanted to." Sam huffed, "Instead I started rambling off all the random facts you had told me earlier that evening. I've never been so glad to have an eidetic memory in my life."

"I'm sure." Al agreed

"She backed off after that, but she made a few comments today that indicated that she hasn't fully dropped the topic, but has instead decided to just go with it." Sam shook his head perplexed at her reaction, "She seems remarkably okay with this."

"From what Luke has told me about her, she is very much an adaptive and roll with the punches kind of gal." Al supplied while absent-mindedly punching a couple buttons on his comlink, "Anyway, Ziggy has another theory as to why you haven't leapt yet."

"Alright, let's hear it." Sam returned his focus to the task at hand.

"There are still a few more things you have to do, assuming those tasks are completed, you should be able to move on to your next leap." Al informed him, "First of all, you need to actively involve Lorelai in April related things including the custody process. Secondly, you need to lay down the law with this Anna person in regards to April's relationship with Luke and Lorelai. That's on top of getting the lawyer."

"I have an appointment in Hartford later this afternoon to meet the lawyer." Sam supplied, glancing at the clock, "Or rather in an hour, I should get going."

"You work fast," Al commented, punching a button to open the imaging room door, "I'll go update Luke on everything and I'll see you later."

Sam looked down at his appearance and knew he'd have to change before going to meet the lawyer. Opening his closet, he found a tailored brown suit that had been hung along with a starched white dress shirt and deep burgundy tie, he could tell at a glance that Lorelai was the one who had selected this particular outfit. Smiling a little at the revelation, he quickly showered to get the smell of diner food off of him and dressed; 10 minutes later he was grabbing his keys and heading down the back steps towards the truck.

At the last minute, he turned left toward the Dragonfly Inn rather than going straight toward the highway. Walking in he found an irritable man in a fitted grey suit, he could only assume that this was Michele. "Is Lorelai in?" he asked, only to be met by an eye roll.

"Don't you have a diner to run?" The man huffed in a thick French accent.

"Caesar and Lane have everything well in hand." Sam assured him, "I'm running a little short on time, so if you could please tell me if Lorelai is in."

"I'm right here," Lorelai smiled from a doorway to his right. Sam turned his appraising gaze toward her. She wore a sleeveless green silk blouse tucked into a knee length tan skirt whose trumpeted hem flirted with the tops of her knees, on her feet she wore a pair of brown strappy sandals that showed of the playful red pedicure that was a match for the manicure on her delicate fingers. The light jacket that was a match for her skirt could be seen just beyond her, hanging on the back of her office chair, "What's up?"

"I was just on my way to my meeting in Hartford and was wondering if you would like to come along." Sam suggested hopefully.

"Sure, it's been a pretty quiet day." She smiled up at him, _He could probably use the help,_ she thought as she ducked back into her office to grab her jacket and purse. She quickly ducked in the kitchen to inform Sookie she was heading out before returning to the lobby where Luke waited for her. "Michel, you got the desk until Tobin gets in, Sookie's in the back if you need anything ownerish done."

"How nice it must be to not have to work like us little people," Michele drawled passive aggressively.

Lorelai just ignored him and turned to Luke, "Shall we?" She asked, tucking her arm into his. He just nodded and led her out to the truck before opening the door and helping her inside. He quickly rounded the vehicle and dropped into the driver's side before putting the truck in gear and heading toward the interstate and Hartford.


	7. Lawyers and 'Loompas

**Lawyers and 'Loompas**

The meeting had gone well; Charles Jameson, the lawyer that Mr. Gilmore had suggested, was confident that the case would go their way. He was impressed upon hearing how Luke had found out about April, and about the DNA test. "That's some amazing little girl you got yourself." The lawyer had commented jovially. After going over some of the finer details of the case and explaining the process, the attorney shook both their hands and led them back toward the front of the office.

The next day Luke found himself once again behind the diner's counter as Lane zipped through the dining area, taking orders and delivering food. Caesar had he grill well in hand, and for the moment it looked like everyone was taken care of. He figured he should do something a little more productive than holding up the back wall so he ducked into the kitchen to start washing the accumulating dishes. He heard the faint tinkle of the bells over the door as they rang out.

A moment later a young voice could be calling out, "Dad? Are you down here somewhere?" Sam stuck his head out the kitchen door to find a young teen with long dark brown hair and glasses standing in the diner looking about before Lane walked by and nodded toward where Sam stood.

"Dad!" The girl smiled seeing him, "I'm so glad you're here! I've missed seeing you, weird as that seems since I didn't even know you existed for the first 12 years of my life."

"I've missed you too, April." Sam smiled at the girl, "And please don't take offence at this, but what are you doing here? Does your mom know you're here?"

April immediately looked remorseful. It was clear she knew she'd been caught. "That's kind of the thing, I know Mom's been keeping me away from you. I think it's really stupid that she is so upset about me meeting Lorelai. I mean who could hate Lorelai?"

"Good question." Sam nodded before allowing the girl to continue.

"And in answer to your other question," April took a deep breath, "No, Mom doesn't know I'm here. Last I saw her, she was pacing around the living room ranting about process servers, ungrateful men, and lawyers. I can only assume that was your doing."

"I really don't want to put you in the middle of this." Sam shook his head.

"I kinda am in the middle of all this in every sense of the word." April shrugged, "I mean it is about my custody, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sam sighed, "I don't want to say anything further about it, though. I don't want you feeling like I'm making you choose between me and your mother."

"Jeez Dad," April rolled her eyes in true teenaged fashion, "I would never think that!"

"Good," Sam nodded, "I should probably get you back to your mom's before she realizes you're missing."

"Too late." A voice came from behind them, Sam looked up to see an angry looking dark haired woman. "Just who do you think you are Lucas Danes?" She demanded.

"Why don't we take this conversation upstairs," Sam suggested tersely.

"Fine," Anna relented.

"April you stay here," Luke instructed his daughter before calling to Caesar over his shoulder to bring the girl a chocolate milkshake and a plate of fries.

The adults were quiet while they made their way behind the curtain and up the stairs. As soon as the door to Luke's apartment closed, Anna rounded on him.

"First I find out that you are trying to take my daughter away from me, now I find her in your diner! You have no right!" She shouted at him, steam pouring out of her ears. "This is all Lorelai's idea isn't it?"

"Leave Lorelai out of this." Sam retorted, "She had nothing to do with my decision; I came to it all on my own. The only thing she did was offer to have her father recommend a lawyer. Okay, yes she went with me to the consultation, as moral support only, she sat silently. Not that there was any reason for her to, she could have added her input and it would have been welcome. She is my fiancée, after all."

"And like I told _her_ ," Anna spit the last word, "Engaged is not married, she should have no say or influence in my daughter's life."

"April is my daughter, too!" Sam's voice took a dangerous note, "I have every right to have a say in who our, yes our, daughter knows and doesn't know in my life. Lorelai is going to be her step-mother soon, and as such has just as much of a reason to know her as I do."

"Well maybe April shouldn't be around you anymore!" Anna huffed.

"NO!" They heard the muffled cry of the 13 year old from behind the door. April had followed her parents up the stairs shortly after Caesar had delivered her food and milkshake, in takeout containers, and had been sitting outside her father's apartment listening in on their conversation.

Sam sighed and walked over to the door, pulling it open, only to have April fall in after losing her balance. "I thought I told you to wait downstairs."

April stood and dusted herself off before meeting the eyes of both her parents. "My _life_ is at stake here. I think I have a right to have a say in what is to happen to me." She spoke with a resolute voice, "Mom, I like Lorelai, but I love you. Lorelai is great and she _is_ going to be Dad's wife, that's assuming they ever reset the date and get the wedding planned." She sent a pointed look to her father, silently communicating that she knew that he had postponed the event because of her, "I want to get to know her. I already met her daughter Rory, but aside from my birthday party and Jess' open house, I haven't really had a chance to get to know Lorelai or Rory. They are both really fun and really smart, you should be happy that Dad is bringing such great people into my life."

Her parents were dumfounded at her passionate input. "One more thing, I want to be at the trial, or mediation, or whatever."

"No, absolutely not." Anna shook her head. "There will be no trial or mediation or whatever. You and I are moving to New Mexico, and that's the end of it."

"Anna, be reasonable." Sam tried to talk sense into the woman.

"I think I have been reasonable enough!" Anna shouted, "I didn't tell you about April for a reason, you hate kids. You were always railing about noise and jam hands."

"Yeah, when I was 26 and still having to bail my sister out of jams." Sam admitted, some of Luke's residual memories floating over, "I wasn't ready to have a kid back then, it's true, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have stepped up for my own kid. You know how much family means to me, I know we weren't together that long but even you knew that if my sister needed my help, I dropped everything to help her and Jess."

"Whatever." Anna huffed, "April, grab you things, we're leaving."

With that Anna turned on her heel and headed out the door as April whispered a soft "sorry," to her dad as she followed her mom out of the apartment. Sam blew out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding as he hoped that he wouldn't do anything to screw this up. After another deep breath, he reached for the small cell phone that he'd found in the apartment and pressed the "2" button hoping that at some point someone had set up his speed dial thankful that he'd leapt into "the future" before. He knew Project Quantum Leap had started in 1999, but since he had jumped as far as 2014, not to mention Al's rapidly aging state, he could only assume that the project was still running at least 15years after it had originally started.

Turning his focus back to the simple flip phone in his hand he found that his first guess has proven correct, someone had indeed set up Lorelai's number in the cell phone. As the call was placed, "Walk Like an Egyptian" played as the ring back tone causing Sam to roll his eyes in a very Luke-like fashion.

"Hello?" Lorelai's voice answered.

"Hey, it's me." Sam said.

"Well hello there 'Me,' I always wondered what I would sound like with a masculine voice, now I know." She quipped.

"Haha," Sam replied drolly, "I was actually calling for a reason."

"I figured it wasn't just to say hello considering I know this time of day is usually your busy time of the day." Lorelai's smile could be felt over the line, "What's up, Angel Boy?"

"Anna and April were just here." Sam informed her before explaining everything that had occurred since April showed up earlier that afternoon.

"She really said that?" Lorelai sounded shocked, "I knew she was mad, but I didn't think she would actually want to deny you access to your daughter, even if she did move to the other side of the country. Don't worry, I've studied custody issues a few times over the years just to know what my rights and Christopher's rights were when it came to Rory. Now that Anna's been served, she can be held in contempt of court if she just up and leaves. I don't think she would want April to see her get arrested."

"Yeah, probably not." Sam agreed. "Well thanks for being a sounding board, I'd better get back down there before Caesar decides to add chilled bananas to the menu again." _It's amazing what drifts over sometimes,_ he thought to himself.

"No problem," Lorelai assured him, "I'm happy to help. Are you going to bring dinner home tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be there around eight, Caesar is closing tonight." Sam informed her, "I figure we could have a quick strategy meeting then relax with a movie… that _isn't_ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"But the Oompa Loompas!" Lorelai mock protested.

"I think we can go a night without your harem of little people." He chuckled, "I'll see you at eight."

"Okay, see you then." She responded, "Don't worry we'll figure this out." With that she disconnected the call.


	8. One Last Meeting

**One Last Meeting**

It was less than a week until the mediation hearing; Sam and Lorelai were once again sitting in Charlie Jameson's office, going over last minute details for the hearing. "So Luke," The older man looked at Sam, "Your daughter is a very intelligent young girl."

"I could have told you that," Sam chuckled.

"I know you knew that a DNA test would be needed since you aren't listed on her birth certificate," The lawyer continued, "As it turns out, the lab she used when she tested your DNA last year is one of the labs used by the courts. She sent me the results, her uncle is one of the technicians so it won't need to be verified since his name is in the report."

"Anna is gonna love that," Lorelai chuckled wryly.

"I just hope she doesn't come down too hard April or her brother," Sam sighed.

"She's a big girl; I'm sure she'll get over it eventually." Charlie assured him, "I don't want to keep you too long, you know how lawyers like to charge those exorbitant fees." He chuckled at his joke, "Do either of you have any questions before we go?"

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer me to write down my character reference?" Lorelai asked, looking a little nervous.

"I'm sure. Your message would make more of an impact verbally than it would on paper." Charlie gave her a fatherly smile, "Besides, we already have enough letters. Not only did your daughter, Rory write in, but Jess Mariano sent something in, as did someone by the name of Lane VanGerbig."

"Rory," Sam chuckled, "I bet that was her doing. Jess is my nephew who stayed with me off and on for the better part of two years and Lane is one of my employees as well as one of Rory's best friends."

"From what I read, they all hold you both in high esteem," The wizened Lawyer commented.

"'High esteem?'" Lorelai questioned, "Did Jess really use those words?"

"No, but he did say that he respected both of you and that you two are and I quote, '…the best parents a kid could ask for.' He goes on to say that despite the fact he put both of you through a lot but you never really gave up on him, even if you might not have liked him very much at times if at all." Charlie informed them. "Miss VanGerbig,"

"Mrs." The couple corrected in unison.

"I apologize," Charlie chuckled, "Mrs. VanGerbig had nothing but glowing praise for the two of you as well; she even went as far as to say that denying a child the opportunity to have either of you individually is on par with committing a crime, especially when they can get both of you."

"Remind me to remind you to give that girl a raise." Lorelai joked. "So, sounds like we have the testimonies in order, is there anything else we need to do between now and the court date?"

"No," The Lawyer shook his head, "Just make sure to show up on time. I'll see the two of you on Thursday."

"Thank you again for your help." Sam shook the man's hand before stepping to the side.

Lorelai stood and extended her thanks and hand as well, "Say hello to your parents for me." Charlie request was met with a small smile and nod before Sam placed his hand on the small of Lorelai's back and led her out of the office and to the truck.

"It'll all be over soon." Lorelai smiled up at him as he opened the door for her.

"Yeah it will," Sam nodded before rounding the truck and sliding into the driver's seat, "I just hope that the outcome is in April's best interest, even if that means me not being able to see her as often."

"Oh Babe," Lorelai touched his cheek with the palm of her hand, her ring glittering on her finger, "It'll all work out, you'll see. The judge would have to be crazy to take her away from you."

"Well let's just hope the only crazy person in that courtroom is you, Crazy Lady." Sam smiled affectionately at Lorelai.

"You just worry about what you have to do, Angel Boy." Lorelai kissed his cheek before turning forward in the cab as they drove back toward Stars Hollow in reflective silence.


	9. Trials and Departures

**Trials and Departures**

Thursday came faster and slower than they expected all at the same time. Before they knew it the day was upon them and Lorelai was standing in Luke's apartment straightening his tie. "Would you just hold still and stop fidgeting?" She demanded, pulling on the piece of blue silk that encircled her fiancé's neck. "I really don't want to accidentally choke you." She explained giving the fabric one more tug and smoothing it down against his chest. He wore a dark navy suit with a light grey shirt and blue silk tie that matched his eyes. She had read somewhere that blue inspired trust and she wasn't taking any chances.

She herself was wearing blue, a sleeveless sheath dress the same color as her cerulean eyes that hugged her curves and hit just below her knee. She also had a white ¾ length cardigan sweater in case the mediation room was chilly. Around her neck she wore the pendant and earrings set that Liz had made while Luke had been helping at the renfaire the previous year. On her feet she wore strappy high heeled sandals that boosted her up to nearly eye level with Luke. Picking up her clutch and checking her make up in the mirror once more, she turned to Luke and smiled. "Ready go?"

Sam just took a deep breath and opened the door, "Ready as I'll ever be, let's go." Lorelai followed him down to the truck for their drive to the Hartford municipal courthouse.

"Good morning," Charlie called to them jovially, "You two look very nice. I take it this was your doing?" He directed the question to Lorelai.

"Yessir, I had to make sure that he looked the part of trust worthy father." Lorelai beamed, "I was going for Clark Kent without the glasses or spandex costume.

"I think you may have succeeded." Charlie praised her before turning to Luke, "How are you feeling Mr. Danes?"

"Nervous, anxious, excited," Sam shrugged, "Unpack your adjectives and you'll probably hit more of my emotions now."

"Sounds about normal." Charlie nodded, "Let's go see if we can't get this pesky custody dispute settled." With that he led the couple into the mediation room.

A few minutes after they took their seats, Charlie nearest the chair that was seated at the end of the table, Lorelai sat on the other end, and Luke was in the middle, Anna and her lawyer came in and took their seats across from Luke's team.

"Good morning Luke," The lawyer smiled smugly.

"Nicole," Sam nodded, "When did you get into family law?"

"Oh my firm handles all sorts of cases," Nicole waved her hand dismissively, "When Anna came in I thought I could lend a hand."

"Don't you think that this is a conflict of interest?" Sam challenged her.

"I don't see why," Nicole shrugged, "Oh is it that I'm your ex-wife?"

"That would be it." Sam retorted.

"I think we should let the judge be the, well judge, of that." Nicole smirked as the judge, an older man around the age of the elder Gilmores walked in. "Do you have a problem with me be counsel opposite my ex-husband?" She purred at the older man.

"So long as you can be professional," The judge responded taking his seat. His impeccable suit could be seen underneath his judicial robes; his white hair and wizened grey blue eyes called to mind thoughts of amicable old wizards from days of old. "Let's see what we have here," He sighed, opening the manila folder before him. "Danes versus Nardini concerning the custody arrangements over the minor child April Nardini." He read aloud. "So Mr. Danes, you are suing for custody of your daughter?"

"That's right your honor, I spent the first 12 years of April's life having no input in her life or knowledge of her existence." Sam nodded, "I just want a chance to have a say in my daughter's life, I also want to have her birth certificate amended to list me as her father."

"I can understand that, why is it that you are before me now instead of working this out between you and Miss Nardini?" The judge questioned him.

"I have tried to talk to Anna several times regarding this subject but we have reached an impasse." Sam explained, "We both want what is best for our daughter but are unable to reach an agreement between just ourselves."

"I see," The judge nodded before turning to Anna, "Miss Nardini, do you have an objection to your daughter seeing her father?"

"No, I have an objection with him telling me how to raise my daughter." Anna informed the court, "Not to mention his blatant disregard to my request that he keep his girlfriend…"

"Fiancée," Sam corrected.

"Mr. Danes you'll have your chance again in a moment." The judge assured him.

"My apologies."

"Now Miss Nardini, you were saying?" The judge prompted her.

"I specifically asked him to not involve his girlfriend in my daughter's life, and the first chance he got, he let her throw a party for April." Anna continued.

At this point, Nicole spoke up, "Not to mention that Mr. Danes has always been known to dislike children." Lorelai let out a derisive snort that was ignored by the other adults, "He's been known on multiple occasions to make comments about not having the patience for children or their, as he puts it, 'jam hands.' The fact that he is fighting for custody of his daughter after not having contact with her for over 12 years is laughable and is likely his girlfriend's influence."

"There will be no speculation tolerated in regards to either participants' motivation, Miss Leahy." The judge warned her.

"Sorry, your Honor."

"Now Mr. Danes, do you or your counsel have a rebuttal?" The judge asked him.

"I just wanted to point out a few errors in their arguments. First of all, Lorelai is my _fiancée_ , not my girlfriend, and as such she should be allowed to meet my child. As for the lack of contact until April was 12, like I said before, I didn't know she existed until then, Anna never even mentioned that she was pregnant." Sam explained, "I do admit that I've voiced disinterest in kids before, but other people's kids are different than my kids. Lorelai and I had discussed having kids before April came along and we hope to have some after we marry. My perspective on kids was already changing by the time she came along."

"Thank you, Mr. Danes." The judge nodded, "Now I hear that there were some character references?"

"Yes your honor," Charlie spoke up, "We felt that Luke's absence in his daughter's life might reflect negatively on him, so we asked a people to submit character references on his behalf."

"Very well, you may proceed." The judge allowed.

Sam squeezed Lorelai's hand as she smiled nervously at him and cleared her throat. "I suppose I'm the one to start this off." She started, "My name is Lorelai Gilmore, and as was mentioned before, I am Luke's fiancée. Now, I know that may make it seem like I view him with rose colored glasses, and maybe I do, but I'm not going to speak of our current situation. Instead I wanted to tell you about what he was like before we got together. I have known Luke Danes for about 10 years now, and somehow he infiltrated all areas of my life. When I first moved to town, I had nothing but myself and my daughter. You see, I'm a single mother, I got pregnant young and my daughter's father skipped town. He had very little contact with her over the years even though the door was wide open to him. However Rory never went without a positive male role model in her life after we met Luke. When she was about 11, I finally had saved up enough money to buy us a house. Granted it wasn't in the best of shape, but that soon became a non-issue. Around the same time I met Luke Danes, and while I may have annoyed him at first, we quickly became amicable with each other, then friends, then best friends, and you know the rest. Over the years Luke has done many things for us, and specifically for Rory that is usually considered to be things a father would normally do. He's fixed up our home many times over, keeping it from falling down around our ears. He built the shelves that are in my daughter's room as well as the desk that sits beneath her window.

"It wasn't just our physical needs that he's met, but emotional as well. When Rory was 12, her caterpillar died, he came to the funeral at her request, even brought food along so that we'd have something to eat during the wake. When Rory got the chicken pox, he was at the house every day with a steaming vat of mashed potatoes because that is all she would eat. He's threatened every boyfriend she's ever had, including his own nephew, out of love for my little girl. I can only imagine how much more he would do for his own little girl, given the chance. He has always been there for us, and always will be; once Luke Danes is in your life, he's always in your life."

"Thank you, Miss Gilmore," The judge nodded at her, his face not giving away any reaction to what she just said, "I hear there were more?"

"Yes your honor," Charlie nodded before sliding three envelopes toward the wizened justice who opened the letters and read them aloud.

The first letter was from Jess, much as Charlie had explained to the couple before, he admitted to not being the easiest kid to live with. He went on to explain the many times he had failed them, but that they, and especially Luke, never gave up on him. He credited Luke with the man he became and said that there were very few people who had a positive influence in his life and Luke was one of those people.

The second letter was from Lane, she detailed the interactions she'd seen between Luke and the Gilmore girls over the years. She even mentioned the kindness that Luke had shown her throughout her life as well. She echoed Lorelai's sentiment that Luke had been a father figure to not only Rory but to herself since her father had passed away some years ago and that April would be very lucky to have Luke as a more permanent fixture in her life.

The last letter was from Rory. She spoke of the multiple ways that Luke had stepped up with Christopher hadn't, she went on to talk about how his influence on Jess had even indirectly got her to go back to Yale where she was a journalism major. "There has always been some confusion when it comes to the words 'Father' and 'Dad,'" She had written, "The former is simply a biological term, meaning the male counterpart that contributed to your creation. The latter however is so much more, a Dad is someone who makes you the one food you will eat when you are sick, even at 2 in the morning. A Dad looks out for you, defends you, and threatens your boyfriends out of love for you. A Dad attends a funeral for a bug and brings food to soothe the pain of a 12 year old's loss. A Dad threatens to drag you to school when you drop out and sit with you to ensure you attend all your classes when you are stuck in a spiral of bad decisions. A Dad is someone who will go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure their child is happy, healthy and loved. I've been lucky to have a Dad like Luke in my life, even if it wasn't his official or legal title in my life. I've always wished he could have been both my Father and my Dad, but alas I was not that lucky; April however is lucky enough to have Luke as both her Father and her Dad. It would be unjust to deny her access to her father or vice versa. Please do the right thing for all involved and grant Luke the access he needs, and deserves, to his daughter."

"Jeez," Sam blushed, hearing Rory's letter read out loud.

"We do have on more testimony, your Honor." Charlie informed the judge before turning to one of the interns and whispering to them before sending them on their way. "April Nardini reached out to me the other day and asked if she could speak on her own behalf."

"Absolutely not!" Anna shouted.

"Miss Nardini, please restrain yourself." The judge responded evenly, "Now the girl is 13, is that correct?" Both parents nodded, "In that case, send her in. She is old enough to understand these proceedings and have a say. Besides I'd wager a guess that a girl who is intelligent enough to do a professional-level DNA test to prove paternity knows her own mind and what is best for her."

The door creaked open and April preceded the intern into the courtroom. "Good afternoon, Miss Nardini." The old judge smiled warmly at the girl who took a seat directly opposite of him.

"Good afternoon, you honor." She met his steady and intelligent gaze with one of her own.

"Do you understand why we are all here today?"

"Yes sir." April nodded, "My parents are seeking a custody arrangement, or rather my father is requesting formal partial custody of me as my mother has seemed hesitant as of late to allow me to spend time with him or his fiancée by extension."

"You put her up to this." Anna accused Luke.

"I did nothing of the sort." Sam countered, "She came here of her own free will, I never asked her to come here today. In fact I told her to leave it to me and you to sort out."

The judge simply shot one more warning look at Anna and Luke before returning his eyes to April, "Please continue Miss Nardini."

"I don't know why my mom kept me from my dad for so long," April explained, "She never spoke of him to me, never even hinted at his identity. I overheard her talking with some of her girlfriends once and the topic of my father came up, she admitted that there were three possible men who could have been my father. I had my science fair coming up and I thought that finding my father would be a unique idea. I found out the names of the possible subjects and began to collect data and DNA. As luck would have it, Luke was my father. I know I took him by surprise at the beginning, but he was so good with me. He would give me little jobs around the diner to do when I visited so I wouldn't be bored, he helped me with my homework when he could. He even tried to throw me a birthday party, it would have been a complete disaster if he hadn't gotten over his pride and asked Lorelai to help out. As it was, calling her was a good idea because as soon as she showed up, the rest of the night was, for lack of a better term, awesome!"

The judge chuckled as April's teenaged enthusiasm broke through the professional tone she'd carried prior. "Is there anything else you wish to share?"

"Yes," April nodded, "I want to be able to see my dad more, and I want to get to know Lorelai; she is going to be my step-mother after all. It's not that I don't love my mom, I do, but I love my dad too and want to be able to see him more often. As it stands, my grandmother is ill and my mom is wanting to move us to New Mexico to care for Grandma. I don't want to go, I'm going to be staring high school in the fall, and I want to be able to finish school with my friends. I have friends whose parents are divorced and they have to stay within a certain distance of each other so that the children can continue to attend school, no matter whose home they are in. I'm just hoping that something like that can be arranged. I'm sure my grandmother can travel up to Connecticut just as well as we can travel to New Mexico, and being able to stay here, I wouldn't have to wait for every other holiday to see my father. I trust you will make the right decision."

"Thank you, Miss Nardini," The judge nodded to the girl, "You have given me a lot to think about. Let's break for an hour to get lunch and when we return I will render my verdict."

The group rose to leave, Anna went over to her daughter to demand to know how she got to the courthouse. April informed her that Rory had given her a lift, this caused Anna to stare daggers at Lorelai. Lorelai ignored her, but was glad to find Rory, Lane, and Jess sitting in the hallway just outside the mediation room.

"We figured it would be best to come down just in case they wanted some clarification on the letters." The young woman shrugged.

"Aww Sweets," Lorelai pulled her daughter into her arms, "You are too good to us. You know you had Luke beaming and practically tearing up when you called him your dad in your letter."

Rory simply blushed as Lorelai focused in on Jess, "And you, who knew you were so good with words. I know the verbal thing tends to come and go with you, but wow."

"Well he is an author." Sam chuckled, "Thank you, all of you for your kind words. Do you want to join us for lunch?"

"No, I should be getting back to school." Rory admitted. "April should probably be getting back too."

"I brought the two of them here." Jess informed them.

"Where's your car?" Lorelai asked, looking at her daughter.

"Back at school," She shrugged, "Jess was already heading in this direction so it just made more sense for him to pick me and April up on his way through."

"I should be getting back to the diner." Lane added, jerking a thumb toward the exit.

"Yeah, thanks again." Luke smiled at the girl.

"No prob, boss." She graced him with a wide smile before turning on her heel and heading out the door.

"Well, I suppose we should let you get going." Lorelai shrugged, "Say hello to Logan for me."

Rory shifted uncomfortably before agreeing with a, "Yeah, sure," Lorelai made a mental note to probe about that later as she hugged her daughter. Luke gave Jess a manly hug before seeing April approach. After a few more words were exchanged along with promises to call with the results of the mediation, the younger group left for their respective schools and work while the couple set off to find something to tide them through the rest of the day until dinner.

An hour later, the group reconvened in the mediation room and awaited the court's judgement. The judge entered quietly, robes billowing out from his frame, before he took his place at the head of the table. "I think I've kept you in suspense long enough." He started, looking between the two parties. "I have reached the decision that custody of the minor, April Sophia Nardini, will be split 50/50. I see no reason to restrict her from having equal access to both her parents. She will henceforth spend alternating weeks with her mother and father. Miss Nardini, if you do indeed need to go to New Mexico to care for your mother instead of bringing her here, April will stay with her father rather than be uprooted from her school and friends."

Anna looked as if she was going to protest but quickly shut her mouth at the stern look the judge gave her, "Furthermore, April's birth certificate will be amended to include Lucas William Danes as her father. The minor child will also be given the option of changing her last name if she sees fit. Does anyone have any questions regarding these rulings?"

"Just one, your honor." Sam spoke up, "My fiancée and I are looking to get married soon, we will do our best to not hold the wedding on one of my off weeks but if we haven't any other choice, would I be allowed to have April during that time frame?"

"Yes, as well as alternating holidays. For example, you will have April for Thanksgiving and Miss Nardini will have the child for Christmas. Next year you will switch so that Miss Nardini can celebrate Thanksgiving with April and the child will have Christmas with you. Anything else?" When none of the adults spoke up, he hit his gavel on the table and stood, "I will file my ruling with the court this afternoon, and the new custody arrangement will start tomorrow evening. Mr. Danes, since Miss Nardini has had April consistently for the past few weeks, you will go first. Your custody will switch every Friday at 5pm. Oh and one more thing, Miss Nardini, you are not to interfere with your daughter's relationship with her father and soon-to-be stepmother. If you do, you will be held in contempt, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, your honor." Anna responded, defeated as Nicole led her from the court room.

"Well done," Charlie shook Sam and Lorelai's hands. "I bet you two have some phone calls to make and celebrating to do, so I will let you go."

"When should I expect a bill for your services?" Sam asked.

"Didn't they tell you?" Charlie looked between Lorelai and Luke, "When Richard set this up he paid all your legal fees up front. Said it was part one of your wedding gift."

"He did what?" Sam and Lorelai asked in unison.

"He paid all your fees, so all you have to do is worry about your daughters and your wife from here on out." Charlie shook Sam's hand one more time. "Congratulations."

"Thank you again," Sam nodded and led Lorelai out of the courthouse. A few phone calls later and the news had been spread to all their family and friends.

The next afternoon, April came sweeping into the diner, backpack on her shoulders, helmet swinging from one hand and a duffel bag in the other, "Dad!" She cried out.

Sam ducked out from the kitchen, "Hey Sweetie, how was school?"

"Forget school!" She beamed, but then corrected herself at his concerned look, "Okay so maybe don't forget school. I'm so happy we were able to get this worked out. I can't believe I get a whole week with you now!"

The bells above the door rang out again as the Gilmore girls came crashing in, hugging both April and Luke. Jess entered a few minutes later and leaned against the side of the door, a smirk on his face as he watched the scene. Sam noticed him and waved him over to a table where he sat the rest of their group. Within minutes each of them had food and drinks in front of them eating and chatting the way a family does.

Sam sat back and enjoyed the view of the family before him, he only hoped that when he leaped that Luke would be pleased with the results. He knew the leap was near, he had already started to feel the pull of the space-time continuum. His suspicions were only confirmed when he heard the whisper of the imaging chamber door. Al stood just behind Lorelai to his right, "Well Sam, looks like you did it." He smiled at the scene as well, "And not too soon, Luke is just about out of his mind, he wants to get back home."

Sam smiled at Al's comment as Lorelai leaned over, "Good work, Angel Boy," She whispered and kissed him on the cheek. Almost as if she triggered it, Sam felt the familiar charge coursing through is body as his vision began to warp and shimmer. He felt the familiar tug at his center as he was transported from the quiet diner and into a new body.

"Just who do you think you are, talking to Miss Ella like that?" A large muscular man demanded before cocking his hand back and delivering a sharp blow to Sam's jaw, leaving him sprawling on the floor of a dirty tavern.

"Oh boy…" Sam sighed, he hated when leaps started like that.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"I think that ought to do it." Sam said, giving one last good tug at the fencing to ensure it was once again sturdy. He pulled off is dusty gloves and wiped his brow with a small smile to the pretty blonde.

"Thank you, Joe, don' know what I woulda done if Bubba had broken loose again." She smiled appreciatively and kissed his cheek.

"Aw, gee, Nelly," He blushed, "It wasn't nothing anyone else wouldn't'a done."

"Nonsense, Joe Walker," She shook her head affectionately at him, "You're my hero."

Suddenly Sam felt the familiar tingle of electricity thrill through him as he began to leap once again. His vision blurred and sparkled as the transition began. An indeterminable moment later, his surroundings began to come into focus again.

Sam blinked to clear the light points from his eyes as he took in his new location. He seemed to be in a beautifully decorated party venue, and if the cake was any indicator, he was at a wedding reception. Sam looked down and saw he was dressed in a tux, _Am I involved in this or just a guest?_ He wondered, looking around. He thought he recognized some of the guests, but what caught his eye was the three women who were dancing together in the middle of the floor. The dark haired bride beaming at the two lilac-clad younger women as they shook their collective groove thing.

"Congratulations," A tuxedo-clad young man with dark hair strode over to him, handing him one of the beers in his hand before clinking his own bottle against Sam's. "At least one of us finally got the girl."

"I am a lucky man," Sam nodded taking a sip of the hoppy liquid as he looked towards the bride who met his gaze with a radiant smile and a small wave of her hand, an action that was then copied by the two bridesmaids. Sam returned with a solute of his drink.

"You're hopeless." The young man teased him.

Sam smirked as he followed the young man's unbroken gaze that had settled on the older of the two bridesmaids. The girl was a younger, shorter version of the bride. It was clear that she was the bride's daughter as well as the object of the younger man's affections. "Pot meet kettle," Sam chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah," The boy groused.

"You never know," Sam remarked, "She just may be as interested in you."

"With the history we share, it's doubtful." The kid shook his head sadly, "I know things have gotten a little better since the open house last year, but it's hard. When she came by she had told me that everything was fixed, I thought she truly meant everything and that I could finally had a chance to make things right with her. Turns out everything was fixed except him, the jackass in the Porsche." He sighed, "We still talk on rare occasion, but never anything too deep, aside from when we were helping out with the custody hearing. I don't know if she's even still with him."

Sam was at a loss for what to say when the music changed to a slower tempo. He watched at the women moved off to the side of the floor as scattered couples took their place. Noticing no one had approached the young woman in question, he turned to the younger man. "You know, I don't think I've seen anyone with her all night. This might be your chance."

"Chance at getting my heart stomped on again?" Came the challenge.

"You might be surprised," Sam countered, "Ask her to dance and see where it leads. What could it hurt?"

"You mean aside from my pride?" The young man scoffed.

"Just hand me your beer and ask her already." Sam rolled his eyes, "If all goes well you may be next."

"Yeah right," The boy huffed before catching the serious look in his uncle's eyes, "Fine, I'll ask, but for the record I'm just looking to get out of this ridiculous conversation, not because you told me to."

"Noted." Sam nodded, smiling at the young man's receding back.

The young man paused for a moment, saying something to the bride before the boy looked back at the groom. The young man then turned and escorted the object of his affection onto the dance floor. Sam smiled as the awkward embrace of the young couple slowly eased into a more comfortable one as the song progressed. He almost didn't notice the bride approach him. As she drew closer, he recognized the dark haired, blue eyed, beauty s one he'd encountered on a previous leap.

He smiled to himself as he noticed the small change in the woman's expression. On some level she was aware there was something different about the man before her. He knew it, she knew it, and he knew that she knew it.

"Well hello again, Angel Boy," She smiled up at him as she took her place beside him, "Long time no see."

"Jeez, Lorelai," Sam sighed, "You make it seem like it's been forever."

"Not forever," Lorelai shrugged, taking a sip of her drink, trying not to giggle as it tickled her nose. "But it's been a little over a year at least since we started down the April custody-thing road."

"You're nuts," Sam scoffed.

"Whatever you say, Angel Boy." Lorelai quipped.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Sam asked, casting a sidelong glance at Luke's bride.

"Because I don't know your name." She responded as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"I knew I always liked her," The gravelly voice of his friend and co-worker made him jump.

"Al…" Sam started.

"Huh," Lorelai responded, a thoughtful look on her face, "I never would have guessed…"

"What?" Sam asked before catching up to her stream of thought, "No, what I was going to say is I'll be right back."

"Hurry back, Angel Boy," She smiled up at him, "My office is open if you need some alone time for your rhetorical conversations."

Sam just shook his head and walked toward the lobby and Lorelai's office. Making sure the door was locked, he turned toward his friend.

"Wow, she sure has your number." Al chuckled around his cigar. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she knows."

"She does," Sam sighed.

"She what?!" Al demanded, "You didn't…"

"No!" Sam huffed, "I know the rules; I wrote the rules! She figured it out on her own the last time I was here. Speaking of which, why am I back in Stars Hollow? I would really like to get out of here as soon as I can considering what day I just leapt into."

"I'm pretty sure you do." Sam laughed, "If it makes you feel any better, Luke is of the same mind and doing a remarkable impression of a caged tiger. He's been doing nothing but pacing the waiting room and ranting since he first arrived."

"So?" Sam drawled, giving Al a pointed look.

"So what?" The old admiral asked, playing with his cigar before catching up and punching buttons on his comlink. "Oh right, you are here to kiss." Both men looked perplexed before Al knocked the side of the device with the palm of his other hand, "Knock! You're here to knock some sense into your nephew, one Jess Mariano. Huh, good Italian boy."

Suddenly the comlink started going crazy, beeping and flashing. Al punched a couple buttons, "Huh, well that's different…" He murmured.

"What?" Sam asked, "What's different?"

Al just gave him a sly look, "You'll see, but I suggest you unlock the door."

Giving his friend a questioning look, he reached over and flipped the lock on the door. Almost instantaneously he heard a unified feminine squeal followed by a masculine groan that was equal parts complaint and humor. Sam heard the click of heels and dress shoes on the hardwood lobby floor moments before the door to Lorelai's office came crashing open.

"Luke!" "Dad!" He heard the girls cry out jubilantly as Lorelai's "Angel Boy!" joined the cacophony.

"'Angel Boy?'" Rory questioned her mother.

"Just trying out something new," Lorelai shrugged, "Don't dwell."

"Now we've moved on to Bewitched…" April joked, causing Lorelai and Rory to look at her proudly.

"Focus!" Lorelai teased, "There is a more important reason we rushed in here." She explained, bouncing excitedly from foot to foot looking expectantly between the young adults and Luke.

"Well?" Sam led in, "What's up?"

The look that passed between Rory and Jess was not missed by Sam. Rory met Jess' eyes and nodded toward Luke before she mouthed, " _Tell him_."

Jess rolled his eyes despite the half smile that gave him away, "I guess it falls to me." He sighed exaggeratedly, "I suppose I should thank you." He started before he was interrupted by a blonde woman a couple years older than Lorelai bursting through the door.

"Did they tell you?" She asked loudly, but didn't wait for confirmation before continuing, "Can you believe my baby is getting married?"

"What?" Sam asked, vaguely aware of the woman's relation to Luke and the dark-haired young man who stood with a proud smirk on his face which was only rivaled by the blinding smile that shone on Rory's lips.

"Why are you so surprised?" Jess challenged, "It _was_ your idea."

"No it wasn't," Sam protested, "All I said was to ask her to dance. The rest is on you, my friend." He ignored the small chuckle from Al behind him as Jess spoke up again.

"And I quote, 'You never know, you may be next.'" Jess repeated smugly.

"I didn't mean tomorrow!" Sam enthused before looking at Lorelai, "You're okay with this?"

"Like you didn't want this day to eventually come when they were 17." She teased, "If memory serves you were the president of the Jess and Rory fan club back in the day. I admit I wasn't the biggest supporter back then, but even I can tell that Jess has grown up. Besides, this opens up so much mocking opportunity! They are cousins now, after all. Maybe we should make them move to Virginia once their wed."

"Lorelai," Sam warned at the same time that Rory giggle-scolded, "Mom!" and April rolled her eyes with a, "Gross," while Jess simply laughed.

"Come on, let's get back out there before everyone - and by everyone I mean Patty and Babette - realize that nearly the entire bridal party is missing." She smiled, "You go on ahead; Luke and I will follow in a minute."

The rest of the family nodded and left the tiny office. Lorelai closed the door behind them and turned back, "Thank you." She smiled warmly as she laid her hand on his forearm, "They would have been circling each other for years if you hadn't pushed Jess."

"Say goodbye, Sam." Al warned him as he started to feel the familiar tingle again.

"Goodbye, Sam." He repeated.

"Sam?" Lorelai questioned, "Is that your name?"

Sam just smiled and gave a small nod as the leap overtook him.

A moment later, Luke gave a little start, blinking his eyes as he reoriented himself. He was in his wife's office with the woman herself, looking lovingly up at him.

"Welcome back, Burger Boy," She kissed him, "Let's go wish Jess and Rory congratulations on their engagement."

"He finally got his act together, huh?" Luke asked, following his wife back to the banquet hall.

"Seems that way," She smiled, taking his hand, "What I would like to know is where he got the ring on such short notice."

"I gave it to him a long time ago." Luke informed her, "It was my mother's, I thought he should have something of hers."

"And he just happened to have said ring on him?" Lorelai challenged.

Luke just shrugged, "With all the traveling he does for his books, he's been keeping it in the safe in my office. He must have taken it out at some point the last couple days."

"You okay with this?" She asked.

"Completely okay with this," Luke smiled, "Been waiting for this day since he got his act together and she ditched the 'Blond Dick from Yale.'" Luke put air quotes around the title Jess had given Rory's ex a couple years before.

"I never really liked him." Lorelai murmured.

"Me either," Luke agreed.

"I didn't really like this one either," She continued, allowing a moment for her words to sink in. She gave a small smile to his concerned look, "But I like him now. Like you said, he finally got his act together and is a somewhat respectable adult. I like who he has become, polite, intelligent – although he's always been smart, and totally in love with a Gilmore Girl. He's basically a younger, bookier, you."

"And Rory is a quieter, bibliophilic version of you." He smiled down at her before turning his sights on the newly engaged couple.

"They're going to make it." Lorelai sighed.

"Yeah, hopefully without the drama we've had to endure the last few years." Luke agreed.

"You're conveniently forgetting how dramatic their teens and early 20's were." She pointed out, looking between her daughter and Luke, "Hey, I've got an idea. You know how they say the ones who catch the bouquet and garter will marry next?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you think of a better way for them to tell the town?" She smiled mischievously up at her husband.

Luke laughed and kissed his wife, "I love you, Crazy Lady, but we should probably run it past the princess and the hooligan."

"You're probably right." Lorelai agreed.

Rory loved the idea, Jess less so, but he went along with it. Later that evening when all the couples were dancing, Lorelai lifted her head from Luke's shoulder, "What do you think of the name Sam?"

"Huh?" He asked, giving her a puzzled look, "For what?"

"A baby," She shrugged.

"A… you… we're…" Luke stammered.

"Yes," Lorelai beamed up at him, "I was craving apples all week, so yesterday I gave in and took a test… okay I took three tests. What do you think?"

"I think that had better have been sparkling cider you've been drinking all night." Luke smiled as Lorelai nodded the affirmative before he pulled her back into his arms. "I like the name Sam."

"Samuel William Danes, if it's a boy." Lorelai stated, "Without the first we wouldn't be here, without the second, I wouldn't have you."

"You knew?" Luke looked down at his bride.

"I knew," She confirmed, "It was the eyes, no one has your eyes. Although I really hope this little one will."

"I love you Crazy Lady," he kissed her and lowered the palm of his left hand to her abdomen, rubbing his thumb over the covered flesh that would soon show the presence of his child, "You too, little Sammy."

"We love you too, Daddy." She smiled lovingly up at him before lowering her own left hand to join his. She took in the sight of their conjoined hands, ring winking and glittering in the twinkle lights that had been strung up around the room. She couldn't have been happier in that moment when she raised her eyes to heaven and whispered, "Thank you, Sam."

"Yeah, thanks Sam," Luke agreed, "Wherever you are now."


End file.
